Crawfish Mirliton (Chayote) Soup

Jennifer Cross's Note:

My Cajun mother makes a wonderful mirliton casserole for the holidays that's always a hit. I had a craving for mirliton and crawfish one day, and pieced together this soup from several recipes and a few traditional Cajun cooking methods. Some people prefer to peel and pit mirliton before using them, but the whole fruit is edible. Crawfish tails are usually mostly cooked before being peeled and bagged, but it's best to be on the safe side. Sauteing them first makes sure that they are fully cooked and flavors the butter for the rest of the soup.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 4 cups chicken broth
• ½ tablespoon dried parsley
• ½ tablespoon dried basil
• 1 lb crawfish tail
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 small onion , chopped
• 1 garlic clove , chopped
• ½ teaspoon cayenne
• ½ teaspoon crab boil
• 4 mirlitons , chopped
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Stir dried herbs into broth and set aside.
2. Saute crawfish tails in butter until warm and cooked through.
3. Drain butter and crawfish juice into a pot. Set crawfish aside for later.
4. Add onions, garlic, cayenne, and crab boil to butter and cook over low heat until onions are soft.
5. Add mirliton and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Pour broth into pot, cover, and simmer over low heat. 25 minutes for peeled mirliton, and 30 for unpeeled.
7. Use a food processor or blender to puree soup.
8. Return soup to low heat, and gradually add in crawfish tails. Stir until tails are brought up to the soup's temperature.